whitbside



J. M. WHITE SIDE. REVERBERATORY FURNACE.

No. 60,654. Patented Dec. 18, 1866.

jig-1.

nitrh tans igatrat ffirr.

IMPROVED REVERBERATORY FURNACE.

an swam: atrial: in it ihttt 32am haunt amt making mm at 1112 am.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN;

Be it known that I, J. M. WHITESIDE, of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented a new and useful improvement in Reverberatory Furnaces; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a horizontal section of this invention, the lines: :2, fig. 2, indicating the plane of section.

Figure 2 is a vertical central section of the same, taken in the plane indicated by the line 7 y, fig." 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention consists in the arrangement of a revolving stirrer, to which motion is imparted by mechanical power in combination withthe hearth of a reverberatory furnace in such a manner that the operation of stirring and moving a mass of pulverized ores whilst roasting or chloridizing in the reverberatory furnace is materially facilitated. The furnace in which the ore is roasted, is covered up and arranged so that all but superheated air is excluded therefrom while the same is in operation, and, furthermore, jets of superheated steam are injected over the ore on the hearth to facilitate the disintegration and-chloridisation of the same.

A represents a circular oven of any convenient dimensions, with an ardh, B, passing under its centre. From thisarch rises through the floor of the oven a shaft, '0, having on its top a centre-piece or head, D, from which radiates a series of arms, E, which are cast or otherwise secured to said head and made of wrought-iron bars or of any other suitable material. Upon these arms are placed shoes or pieces, a, of any convenient form, to turn and move the ore. Said shoes may be made of suitable metal or any other refractory material, at the will of the operator. Under the head D there is a shield, Z), which surrounds the shaft and prevents the ore from escaping through the holein the hearth, through which the shaft passes up. Said shaft is sustained in its place underneath the floor or hearth of the oven by a box, (Z, with a cavity or cup large enough to contain a quantity of packing, which will retain water to prevent the bearings from heating, the water to be constantly supplied through a small pipe, 2, leading from a tank, E, which is supported at a suitable height above the level of the furnace on a structure of wood or any other suitable material. The workingdoouf, is placed as usual, and it may be provided with shutters, the upper half of which may be made of transparent material, 'or so arranged that they can be opened to observe the progress of the operations within. In the furnace wall is embedded a perforated tube, g, or a series of tubes, at a level, or nearly so, with the surface of the char e. Through -these tubes steam is injected, which is either taken from the exhaust or directly from the boiler, and which acts' asJan oxidizing agcntand as a means to facilitate decomposition- While passing through the tube or tubes 9, the steam is superheated and its oxidizing and decomposing effect is increased. In fig. 1 of the drawing a generator, h, is shown, which forms a part of the fire-bridge, and is supplied with water from the tank E From this generator extend the pipes which inj cct steam in the oven. The pipe leading from the tank to the generator is provided with a stop-cock, i, which connects with an eccentric on the driving-shaft C, so that said cock is alternately opened and closed, and the water is injected in the form of successive jets, which are immediately transformed into steam, and thus prevented from producing an injurious action upon the iron. The principal advantages of this invention are the simplicity and cheapness of construction and its ready application to existing ovens of the usual class. It saves a large amount in daily expenses of working, as a man can more easily attend four of my furnaces than one of the common class. It saves the health of the operators, as they are not exposed to the noxious vapors emanating from decomposing minerals; it saves fuel by the exclusion of the disturbing currents of cold air, which in common ovens always enter at working doors. The charge of my oven oxidizes and chloridizes more rapidly and evenly by being better stirred and moved than in the common oven, and furthermore, by the commodious application of superheated steam the oxidation and combustion are materially aided. In or der to discharge the ores from the oven with convenience when the same are finished, I attach a scr aper to one of the arms in an oblique position, so that by its action the oven will be raked out when the shaft C is revolved.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The arrangement of a revolving stirrer in combination with the oven A, construct stantially as and for the purpose described.

ed and operating sub- '2. The protecting cap, 6, in combinatioa. with shaft 0, which gives motion to the stirrers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The arrangement of the supply-tank E and stop-cock 2', which is operated automatica lly from the drivingshaft C, in combination with the generator h, tube or tubes g, and oven A, constructed and operating substantially, as and for the purpose described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 236. day of February, 1866.

J. M. WHITESIDE.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, W. HAUFF. 

